Columbia Platinum 860 Turbodown Hooded Jacket Review

Hands-On Review

Columbia threw some serious research and development coin in the direction of the Platinum 860 Turbodown jacket. They also didn't skimp on marketing and have thrown down some serious claims that are partially backed up by the performance of their products and partially fall short in many ways. The recommend use of this jacket is listed nebulously as winter. But, winter means very different things to different people. If you are tailgating before the big game or riding the lift to the top of the run, this jacket might be perfect for you. If you're planning on working hard in the big cold world, this jacket will likely leave you a sweaty mess when you can least afford to be.

Performance Comparison

Warmth

If you walk into a freezer with the Platinum 860 on, it will keep you warm. Add a little physical exertion into the mix, and you'll be downright toasty. In real world testing where factors like wind can't be isolated, the warmth retention capacity of the jacket starts to falter. Wind seems to blow right through the outer shell of the Platinum 860. The volume of the jacket requires a large output of heat to warm the extra space up, heat that is quickly lost to the environment. Finally, the Platinum 860 makes it far too easy to get sweaty, a condition that can be dangerous and hard to recover from.

Weight

Columbia doesn't list the weight of the Platinum 860, but on our scale it comes in at 16 ounces, which is on the heavy side (though not the heaviest in our test). The jacket is fairly stripped down on features which keeps the weight down, but the combination of weighty synthetic insulation with high quality, super light 860 fill power down adds weight and bulk. A decent weight-to-warmth ratio in spite of a less than spectacular weather resistance.

Water Resistance

With hydrophobic down technology and a 30D water resistant shell, the Platinum 860 performs better than most in the wet. Though hydrophobic down hasn't been around very long, it has certainly been proven to improve the performance of down in wet conditions. It is definitely not recommended to leave your shell jacket at home in wet weather, but the Platinum 860 will keep you drier than most when you do.

Compressibility

The interesting part about the Turndown is that the insulation is a combination of down and synthetic. This makes it heavier and less compressible than other down jackets in this review. Overall, the 100% Nylon micro ripstop shell and 860 fill Turbodown of the Platinum 860 make it both fairly light and decently compressible. After compression, the jacket suffered an increase in loss of down and the down migrated to one side of the baffles. This substantially decreased its warmth over the course of testing.

Style

The Platinum 860 doesn't fit completely true to size. It has a larger body volume, and some people may want to downsize. Also due to a larger fit, the jacket tends to not be overly flattering, helping you look a little chubby even if you haven't put a lot of personal effort towards that look.

Durability

The shell of the Platinum 860 is a beefy 30D micro ripstop 100% Nylon. Despite a higher denier, the fabric feels brittle and accrued some big tears during the course of testing. The stiffness of the fabric makes it easy to catch on edges and tears propagate easily. The zipper was never extremely functional and got worse over the testing period.

Features

Light on features but not missing anything critical, the Platinum 860 gets it done in terms of functionality. Elastic in the hood and cuffs keep the fit decent and a drawstring at the waist will help keep the wind at bay. The jacket is slightly unspectacular in terms of versatility and adjustability, and a lot of that can be attributed to a poor design and choice of features related to that design.

Best Applications

The Platinum 860 is a great jacket for warmth when you're standing around or riding the lift to the mountain top. It is not as great for working hard in cold weather and is a little fragile for mountaineering or alpine rock. Warm while at rest and out of the weather, it would be great as travel or commuter jacket.

Value

Great value for warmth, the Platinum 860 will serve any wearer well if you use it for the right applications. Though it isn't a super attractive fit, the colors are cool and it will get you to work and back or through a football game without hypothermia.

Conclusion

This jacket won't empty your piggy bank but it won't do everything you might want it to. For a more versatile lightweight jacket check out the Mountain Hardwear Hooded Ghost Whisperer, or for another great value jacket, the MontBell Frost Smoke Parka, our Best Buy winner.

Other Versions

• $200

• Women's version

• Weighs16 ounces

• Scores high in terms of durability

• Looks sleek enough to dress up